1.13 - The Flax

While out in a transport pod Aeryn and John become trapped in the Flax, a trap set by pirates. While they try to repair their pod D'Argo leaves to search for a trapped Luxan vessel and Rygel and Zhaan must deal with the pirates when they arrive on Moya.

Slicker'n snot. - John Crichton
My microbes had to have translated that one wrong. - Aeryn Sun
Southern metaphors, darlin'. You ain't heard the half of 'em. - John Crichton

Where are your, uh... your, uh... your... - Rygel
For an anthropoid biped, there seems to be something missing. - Zhaan
Yeah, I know. Well, I'm a Yenen by species. We're not exactly... cut from the standard mold. - Staanz

Aeryn and John are out in one of Moya's pods so that Aeryn can teach John how to use the bio-mechanoid technology he is installing in the Farscape 1. She complains about how slow he is learning but he replies that he is learning. Suddenly, the ship hits something and they are thrown from their seats.

On Moya, Rygel is complaining about being bored and pounding a rod-like object on the table, much to the annoyance of Zhaan. D'Argo enters and says that training John is a waste of time but Zhaan thinks that it may be of some worth.

Pilot announces that a ship is approaching. He says it is a strange ship and that it has many weapon pieces on board but no complete weapons. They allow it to land and D'Argo and Zhaan go to meet it.

The ship is piloted by Staanz, who claims to be a "garbologist". He warns them that their ship is heading towards the "Flax", an energy field placed by Zenetan pirates to capture ships. Zhaan goes to warn Aeryn and John and Staanz follows. He meets Rygel and recognizes the object Rygel has been playing with as part of a Tadek game. He claims that he used to "dabble" in the game and he and Rygel start playing.

On the pod, Aeryn and John have recovered. They cannot see anything outside and the pod is not moving. They are trying to determine what is happening, with no success, when the power in the pod fails.
"This isn't good." says John.

Zhaan has checked the Peacekeeper files they have on Moya and discovered that Staanz has a major criminal record. She and D'Argo go to where he is still playing Tadek with Rygel and D'Argo grabs him, interrupting the game. Staanz admits that he used to be a criminal, in fact he used to be with the Zenetan pirates, but insists that he is legit now. He removes his pants to show a Zenetan tattoo.

When asked what he wants Staanz says he was hoping for a small reward for warning them of the Flax. Zhaan tells him that if he really wants to help, he could help them locate the missing transport pod.
"Two of our complement are aboard and we've lost contact." she tells him.
"They aren't family?" Staanz asks her, and she says no.
"Good." he says. "There's nothing worse than losing family."

On the pod, John manages to access the auxiliary systems and gets the power back on. Aeryn launches a beacon but they have no way of knowing if it got away or if anyone can hear it. They decide that while they have power they will try to break free. Aeryn runs the power up to full then John tries to use their engine to blast them loose. The ship simply slams into the Flax again and they are thrown to the floor. Parts of the ceiling collapse and a fire breaks out, causing them to rush to put it out.

D'Argo notices that Staanz is wearing a pair of Luxan boots. He starts to throw Staanz in a cell but Staanz reveals that he knows where a Luxan ship is caught in the Flax. D'Argo says if he takes him there and lets him retrieve the navigation data from the ship then Staanz can have any other salvage. He lets Staanz free and they both go to Staanz's ship.

Zhaan receives the signal from the emergency beacon and relays it to D'Argo. He and Staanz leave in Staanz's ship, which is barely spaceworthy and continually breaks down. Staanz says that the pirates will not be interested in anything as small as the pod so D'Argo decides that they will proceed to the Luxan ship and stay there for a short time then go to the pod to rescue Aeryn and John.

Staanz detects another ship and tells D'Argo that it is Kcrackic, one of the Zenetan pirates. Kcrackic's ship is headed directly for Moya and Staanz has D'Argo call Moya to tell Rygel and Zhaan not to say anything about his being there.

Kcrackic arrives at Moya and is met by Zhaan. He tells her that they have noticed that Moya is pregnant and so will not try to take it from them. He also says that he is looking for Staanz but both Rygel and Zhaan say they have not heard of him.

Kcrackic is about to leave when he notices Rygel's Tadek set. They challenge each other to a game.

On the pod, Aeryn and John are still unaware if Moya has heard the distress beacon. John notices that the atmospherics line has been damaged and needs to be fixed. Unfortunately, the oxygen level in the pod is already too high and using the welding torch to fix it will likely cause an explosion. They are discussing options when another part of the ceiling gives way and falls. John jumps at Aeryn, knocking her out of the way and to the ground. He lands on top of her.

John asks if she is OK but makes no immediate move to get up. She looks at him.
"Are you comfortable?" she asks. "Shall I get you a pillow?"
Somewhat embarrassed, John gets up.

D'Argo and Staanz are still continuing to the Luxan ship when Staanz's ship suddenly lurches and stops. It has gotten stuck in the Flax.

Aeryn and John decide that the best way to fix the atmospherics line is to depressurize the cabin. Unfortunately, they discover that John's helmet was broken in the crash and is unusable.

Since the only working suit is Aeryn's she will be the one who has to fix the line. John teaches her how to use the welding torch. She then produces a pair of injectors and tells him they are normally used by Peacekeepers in battle. One of them is a drug which will stop his heart briefly and the other will revive him. She says she will use the kill drug on John, depressurize the cabin, fix the line, then repressurize and use the revive drug. John isn't too sure of depending on the drug and insists on teaching Aeryn CPR as well.

Rygel and Kcrackic are still playing Tadek. Kcrackic seems to be winning when Rygel makes a move he learned while playing Staanz. Kcrackic recognizes the move and asks about it but Rygel claims to have invented it himself.

D'Argo and Staanz are still stuck in the Flax but Staanz thinks he can get free. He has D'Argo pound on a non-working piece of equipment while he fires the engines. They manage to dissolve a small piece of the Flax and escape.

John has finished teaching Aeryn CPR and is ready for the kill drug. He asks Aeryn if she believes in an afterlife and explains how humans who have died for a short period and been revived report seeing a bright light and friends and family.
"Sebaceans believe when you die, you die." she tells him. "You go nowhere. You see nothing."
"Yeah?" says John. "I guess I'll find out in a minute, huh?"

She gives John the drug. He dies and she depressurizes the cabin. The computer starts counting down how long she has before she must revive John.

Rygel is still playing Kcrackic when Kcrackic raises the bet. Rygel has nothing left to bet with and tries to bet Moya but Kcrackic reminds him that he isn't interested in a pregnant leviathan. Rygel then offers to tell Kcrackic Staanz's position.

Staanz detects the atmosphere leaking from the pod. He tells D'Argo that they may not have to hurry when aboard the Luxan ship after all.

On the pod, the computer countdown reaches its end. Aeryn repressurizes the pod and moves towards John to revive him. The pod lurches and another piece of the ceiling collapses on her, knocking her unconscious. The computer continues to repeat that the time to revive John safely has elapsed.

Rygel makes his last move against Kcrackic and thinks he has won the game but Kcrackic makes one last move and wins. He demands the location of Staanz. Zhaan tries to stop him but Rygel tells Kcrackic that one of their crewmembers is with Staanz and that Kcrackic can find them by following his comm badge frequency. Kcrackic gets the frequency from Moya's computer and leaves.

Staanz and D'Argo reach the Luxan ship and D'Argo recognizes it as a Luxan Assault Piercer. Staanz tells him they are just in time as it is next in line to be melted down. D'Argo is worried about Aeryn and John but Staanz reminds him that the navigation data on the Piercer may help him find his son.

Aeryn comes to and sees John still dead. She also sees that the injector containing the revive drug was broken when the ceiling collapsed. She pulls John from the chair and starts CPR on him. John comes to and asks her if she fixed the line.

She says no. She ran out of time and had to repressurize the cabin in order to revive him. They only have about a half-arn of air left.

Kcrackic has left and Zhaan is angry with Rygel who seems nonchalant. He explains to her that he knew Kcrackic would not leave without something of value and so deliberately had Pilot put a false frequency in the computer. Pilot reports that Kcrackic is headed in the opposite direction and going somewhere far away.
Zhaan is stunned. "You lost to Kcrackic on purpose?"
Rygel chuckles. "You think it was easy? He's an abominable player." Zhaan continues to stare at him in disbelief.
"Oh, please!" he continues. "Bluffing is what the game's all about!"

Aeryn and John are sitting on the floor of the pod, almost out of hope. Aeryn complains of the pod getting cold and John puts his arm around her and pulls her close.

Staanz docks his ship with the Piercer and starts to enter but D'Argo hesitates. "You're fifteen paces from finding the maps." he tells D'Argo. "You'll be able to find your son! You gotta be looking forward to seeing your son!"
"Yes." says D'Argo slowly. "But when I do, I want to be able to look him in the eye."

Aeryn and John are still sitting together in the pod. John asks Aeryn why she stopped with the repair. If she had finished at least one of them would have survived. She says that she didn't want to be sitting where she was now alone.
"I thought Peacekeepers were trained to fight alone." John asks her. "Survive alone. Die alone."
Aeryn shakes her head. "Well, it appears my training is failing me. I don't want to die alone."

She asks John if he saw anything when he was dead and he says no. Maybe the Sebaceans were right or maybe it wasn't his time to die.
"Well..." says Aeryn, hesitantly, "Maybe you'll find out for certain this time."

She and John lean towards each other and kiss. The kiss becomes deeper and they start caressing each other. This gets more intense and Aeryn is starting to remove her suit when the pod suddenly lurches. They look at each other in shock for a moment then hurriedly separate and rearrange their clothing. The hatch opens and D'Argo enters.
"D'Argo..." says a slightly flustered John. "Um... what took you so long?"
"I had to... uh... find someone to help me." an equally flustered D'Argo replies.

The three return to Staanz's ship where Staanz is tied up. Staanz tells D'Argo that there is probably another Luxan ship somewhere in the Flax and asks if D'Argo would accompany him to look for it. Staanz reveals that he is really the female of the species and she has developed an interest in D'Argo.
John can't resist needling D'Argo. "You know, big guy, I think I'd better give you two a little time alone here... 'cause you know, in a universe this vast, when two hearts collide..."
"Shut up!" says D'Argo.

Later, everyone is back on Moya and they are well clear of the Flax and away from Kcrackic. Zhaan is trying to talk to D'Argo, who is depressed.
"A Luxan warrior must never be indecisive in battle." he tells her. "My indecision nearly cost Crichton and Aeryn their lives."
"But you saved them." she reminds him.
"Barely." he responds. "And by saving them, I may have given up my only chance at seeing my son again. On every front, I failed."

Aeryn and John are also talking but not looking at each other.
"Heat of the moment." John is saying.
"Exactly." Aeryn agrees. "Too much pure oxygen."
John nods. "Affected our judgment. If had been you and D'Argo there, the same thing probably would have happened."
"Or you and Zhaan." Aeryn says.
"Anyway." says John. "One thing's for sure. It'll never, ever happen again."
Aeryn agrees. "No. Never."

She starts to move away and he moves up next to her. "One thing... just to be absolutely certain. You are the female of your species, right?"

She does something that we cannot see and John grins.
"I'll take that as a yes..."

D'Argo has previously tried to get navigational records in PK Tech Girl and DNA Mad Scientist.

D'Argo's son is first mentioned in They've Got a Secret.

Aeryn has previously expressed her fear of being alone in DNA Mad Scientist.

Aeryn first admitted an interest in John in PK Tech Girl.

Exactly how big is the Flax?

What will Kcrackic do when he realizes that he was misled?

Will the encounter between Aeryn and John really "never, ever happen again"?

Well, well, well... Some interesting developments in this episode.

We'll start with the obvious, the Aeryn/John relationship. OK, how many of you didn't think that something would eventually develop between these two? What makes their relationship work is that it isn't something that came out of nowhere or something that happened instantly. We have seen the respect these two have for each other growing for half a season now so it was about time for something to start developing. True, they both swore it would "never happen again" but I'm not sure either of them believe that. They both know where they stand now and it will be interesting to see how things develop.

Aeryn stops the repairs on the pod so she can repressurize the cabin and save John, knowing that she may be killing herself in the process. She says that this is because she didn't want to be alone. She has said before that she has never been alone and it scares her and she shows that again in this episode.

As I said in my comments for PK Tech Girl, in a crisis we all need someone to turn to. Well, we certainly have a crisis and this time it is Aeryn who turns to John. She of course said that it was something that would never happen again but John's grin at the end seems to imply that the word "never" may not be accurate.

Just as Aeryn has advanced in her relationship with John, John has also advanced in his relationship with Aeryn. He literally puts his life in her hands in this episode, showing her how to using the welding torch and teaching her CPR before allowing her to temporarily kill him. He obviously trusts her completely. He also says that it will "never happen again" but he was probably saying that just to put her at ease. Remember him lying on Aeryn after knocking her from under the collapsing ceiling? He is obviously interested in her and has been for some time. Again, in PK Tech Girl, he tells Aeryn "You got him in the end." She wasn't talking about the Sheyang and neither was he.

D'Argo has also advanced in his relationships with the rest of the crew. He has been obsessed with getting navigation information to get him back to Luxan space and we have learned that this is so he can hunt for his son. In this episode he has the chance to get that information and he gives it up to save Aeryn and John; the Peacekeeper and the Human. He sacrificed his chance for the others.

Even Rygel had a chance to shine this time around. He realized that Kcrackic would not leave without something and so planted the false frequency. There was no need for him to do so; he could have given the correct frequency and Kcrackic would still have left. But, by doing what he did, he directly saved D'Argo and indirectly saved Aeryn and John. He also took a chance for the crew.

As I have said before, it is easy to think of Rygel as pure comic relief but he isn't. After all, he was Dominar of over 600 billion people and he did survive over 130 cycles as a Peacekeeper prisoner. He is not someone to be underestimated.

I do have to comment on the killing/reviving of John. Whether he was alive or dead, he was still exposed to vacuum. Killing him was not necessary. Contrary to popular belief it is possible to survive briefly while unprotected in a vacuum. Even without his helmet John would have lived for a minute or so then he would have died. This would have given Aeryn a bit more time to repair the atmospherics line. Of course, we would have lost the scene where she realizes that the nerveshot injector is broken but she wound up doing CPR anyway. (OK, OK, it's a nitpick, I know.)

Overall, an excellent episode. Definitely see this one.